Hi, a friend of mine tried to install her old hard drive on to another computer, she went into setup and changed all kinds of stuff in the bios and now her monitor is blank, the light for it is on but nothng else. She didn't back anything up and I'm not real sure what she has changed in there. Is there anything that she can do to reset the bios to what they were before she messed with it and to have the monitor come back on so she caan access it again? I've been looking through this and another forum trying to find something to help her before she does anything else to it. I'm not sure about the size or anything about the computer except she had a big mess right now and I'm not real good at that kind of stuff. Thanks for any help.

Unless she knows the exact key sequence to enter BIOS, restore the default values, save and exit, you are going to have to find the BIOS reset jumper (if the MOBO has one) or pull the CMOS battery.

also a liitle more info would be helpful.
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mjc
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[This message has been edited by mjc (edited 07-28-2001).]

Welcome justme to the PC Guide Forums http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

I hesitate to throw too many suggestions out there without knowing quite a bit more of the details about the system (before and after) and exactly what she was trying to do.

There is (normally-depending on the motherboard)a way to reset the BIOS to default settings by finding the appropriate jumper on the mobo.

Let's contemplate some easier steps first.

Don't be offended by the following...they are common and mostly overlooked by the best now and then http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

The connection to the monitor from the pc?
The power cord?
The power switch?
Fumbling around inside the case it is easy to have something come unseated. Check cables and cards.

The jumper settings on the HD that was being placed onto the mobo must be set appropriately. Was she trying to set it as master or slave. any other devices on the same IDE channel? Operating System on the new HD?

OK...Picture is getting a little clearer for me I think:

I think she was trying to add her old HD to a diff computer to do some file transferring? If the existing HD is battling the newer (newer to the machine anyway) for the master position this could be a prob. Although I would think she could still get into the BIOS. Cable orientation and jumper settings are a must when adding an IDE device to the channel. Some HDs have a setting for being the lone wolf of the crowd and then a diff setting for being a master, slave or cable select.

Come back with some more info...sorry, it's hard to tell what is goihg on without seeing the "patient".

If you're around head over to the Chat channel, you dont need IRC it will run from a java applet...there may be a couple of folks there..I will go there for a while...not long though...gotta put leaf springs and shocks on my truck before work tomorrow.

Here's the link for the Chat Channel. (http://chat.pacific.net.sg/cgi-bin/javairc.pl?mychann=pcg&mystartbutt=no)

Hang in there..good people here to offer help http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

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Sounds like she could have changed the video option in the bios. Does the new system have an AGP video card or a PCI card? Resetting the bios should take care of this; if the system has an onboard video chip, then try attaching to it instead of any expansion cards. If her old system booted from a pci video card, and the new system has an AGP card, she will have to set the BIOS to recognize the change.

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iisbob
"Soap and education are not as sudden as a massacre, but they are more deadly in the long run."

thanks to all of you who answerd my question, I haven't had a chance to go to her house yet to see if any of it will work, but I have all your answers printed out so I can take them with me and will let you know the outcome.....thanks again http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

Go back to the CMOS choose the default setting, save and exit. You might want to go back again to set the new values for the hard drive. However I think when she was changing the harddrive she had reversed the cable direction.

OK, when did the monitor problem start? After adding the hard drive or after changing BIOS? Or was this the worst case scenario, and both done at the same time? (where's the YIKES!! icon???) http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

First thing to try is removing the added hard drive. Jumper settings must be correct, as stated above, and if the cable is plugged in backward the machine will often get a blank screen and do nothing. You can also unplug the IDE cable from the motherboard and should get video, as long as BIOS isn't trashed too bad...Once you get video you can replace the IDE cable and go from there. If you do get video at this point, check BIOS for a Set BIOS Defaults option and set that. That should restore it to factory default settings. Set hard drives on autodetect, check boot sequence and floppy settings, save and reboot.

If removing the hard drive or IDE cable doesn't work, find out how to reset BIOS on your motherboard. It may be listed in the manual as reset CMOS, rather than reset BIOS. CMOS is the chip, BIOS is the information stored on it. Sometimes, if you're lucky, the CMOS reset jumper might be marked on the motherboard. A pair of magnifying glasses is very useful...Find the jumper and move it to the reset position for a couple of minutes, then replace it to the normal position. If you can't find the jumper, remove the battery for a few minutes and replace it.



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Hi, well we looked at the mother board but couldn't find any reset switches or the battery, she doesn't have any books on the computer, it belonged to her step father who passed away recently so there is no telling where they might be. I think she is just going to call and take it in somewhere this week, but I wanted to thank everyone for all their help. I have it printed out for future use if we need it. Once again thanks http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

hi....just an update.....my friend called a pc shop and she was told to remove the video card and replace it and now it seems to be working ok. hopefully she won't have anymore prblems anytime soon. i think i ran out of tylenol...thanks for all your help tho http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif